Do you like your job? How’s your health? And how satisfied are you, overall, with your life?
Once again Denmark is rated highest in an average in 11 specific aspects of life. In the new publication, “How’s Life?”, OECD is offering a comprehensive picture of what makes up people’s lives in 40 countries worldwide.
The rating is showing a continuing trend that the great liveability offered by Denmark and Copenhagen has a great impact on its citizens. In 2007 a survey carried out by researchers from Cambridge University throughout 180 regions in Europe showed that the inhabitants of Copenhagen are the most happy and satisfied people in all Europe.
One of the aspects that both Cambridge and OECD has looked at is the access to green space and a healthy physical environment as a fundamental driver of quality of life. According to OECD very few Danes complain about the green space in their countries.
Green means happy
The fact that green spaces and city livability could make us more happy is backed by the new study “Copenhagen: Beyond Green – the socioeconomic benefits of being a green city”, which was released last month by Green Growth Leaders. A fact the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, is very focused on.
”A key challenge is to create a city that can sustain both economic and sustainable growth. In Copenhagen we do both. We will continue to develop a city where people enjoy living because it is clean and healthy and offers attracting surroundings for our families, young and old. At the same time we will stimulate economic growth in the clean-tech sector”.
The study from Green Growth Leaders documents that Copenhagen’s green city strategy has not only brought great reductions in the CO2 emissions, decreased pollution, created several green jobs and produced annual growth rates of an impressive 12 percent in the green sector.
The city’s green ambitions has also triggered a great improvement of the quality of life for the citizens of Copenhagen and created growth, export and job opportunities throughout the entire economy of the city.
Copenhagen is also market leader within sustainable meetings – in 2009 the city hosted the world’s first certified international summit, the UNs climate change conference COP15, and in 2012 Denmark is aiming to host the most sustainable EU-presidency ever held.
Liveability means growth
That it is important to measure growth in other ways than GDP is a point that Green Growth Leaders share. The “How's life?” report is a part of the OECD’s ongoing effort to devise new measures for assessing well-being that go beyond Gross Domestic Product. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría stressed in her opening speech why this is the case.
“I strongly believe that today, even more than two years ago, we have to consider a broader picture in our policy making, because a ‘growth as usual’ approach is simply not enough. In the current difficult political context, it is of utmost importance to define core objectives besides level of income, such as improving our citizens’ well-being, ensuring access to opportunities and preserving our social and natural environment.”
OECD: How's life? Measuring well-being
Copenhagen: Beyond Green – the socioeconomic benefits of being a green city
Life satisfaction, Cantril ladder, scale from 0 to 10, mean value in 2010. Source: OECD